Rob Thomas and his mates in Matchbox Twenty had just completed a loud and satisfying version of their mega-hit "Unwell" as the first song on an encore Tuesday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino Event Center.

The just-about-capacity crowd of 4,000 yelled. Some folks began walking toward the exits.

Not so fast, my friends.

"We're going to play a couple more songs," Thomas told the rock 'n' roll fans. "We're in no hurry to go back out in that snow."

And so Thomas, Paul Doucette and friends gave the people three more songs, to be exact, not sending anybody out into the harsh night without playing another of those hits that put them just about everwhere on the radio exactly a dozen years ago, "Push."

It was a hot night in the arena. Thomas was in fine voiced, owning the stage, extremely confident that this return to Matchbox after his great solo success was a very good thing. Doucette was obviously the second biggest attraction on stage, with his black suit, sneakers and eccentric little guitar strut. Guitarist Kyle Cook had it going, too, with bassist Brian Yale and new drummer Ryan McMillan setting the rock-solid bottom line. Matt Beck added some tasty icing, alternating between keyboards and guitar.

The fans were as ready to rock as the musicians, and that's always the right recipe for a big time. They stood throughout the show, relishing old hits like "Real World" and "3 A.M" as well as new songs from last year's two-CD mix of new stuff and hits, "Exilie on Mainstream."

Thomas asked for some help on "These Hard Times." "I want everybody in this part of the show to present us with a light show," he said. "Pull out those iPods and Blackberries and those other crazy things." And so they did, and the Event Center pulsed with the LED light of today's technology. Pretty cool.

But not quite as hot as the wizardry the band lugs around from stage to stage. The set-up featured a big contraption that served as part video screen and part fence. It began the show blocking the musicians from the fan's sight lines, with a very neat and simple black and white video of an astronaut walking through a door on it. Over the stage was a digital clock for a NASA-like countdown in hundredths of a second. So the opening song "How Far We've Come" was a figurative blast-off.

Aftter that, the big screen raised and tracked to the back of the stage. Still later, it separated into quarters and traveled around the stage.

Speaking of hip, Matchbox Twenty picked just the right cover at the close of its proper set. They all took turns singing lyrics to the old and salty Beatles classic, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window."

"By now I'm sure you're all converts," he said of New Orleans rockers Mute Math.

Indeed, they put on quite a spectacle, with lead singer/organist Paul Meany leaping around the stage and pulling off handstands on top of his keyboards.

"Typical" was a great song but a poor description of the band. They could be destined for some unordinary success.

Of Morissette, Thomas said, "She's a real bad ass."

Yes, the Canadian singer served up dollops of anger and angst in her truly intriguing set. "You Oughta Know" just might be the scariest song ever to the guy who cheated on her.

Yet she wasn't afraid to let that great, big voice turn tender on "Thank You" and wise on "You Learn."

Morissette showed humor, too, throwing a pink boa over her shoulders and having her band mates don porkpie hats a la will.I.Am before she launched into a slow and wonderfully eccentric version of Fergie's Black Eyed Peas hit "My Humps."

While rocking, Morissette also showed great flash with harmonica riffs. Versatile, indeed. And, on another night, quite worthy of the opening slot.